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Tag: alarm

  • IG raises alarm over stockpiling of arms by politicians

    ACTING Inspector General of Police (IGP) Mohammed Adamu has accused some politicians of stockpiling arms ahead of the February and March elections.

    Adamu also stated that the police would not hesitate to deal with any politician, whose attitude contravenes the Electoral Act.

    The police boss stated these in Abuja yesterday during a meeting with all the Deputy Commissioners of Police in charge of Operations as part of preparation for the elections.

    The meeting was called to review the national security threat assessment report received from different security sources and advance ways of mitigating them ahead of the elections.

    As part of measures to ensure a hitch-free election, the IG urged the DCPs to begin raids of black spots to curtail likely threats to the electoral process.

    Adamu also asked the police officers to make plans for the mobilisation or deployment of sister security agencies that will be available for the election.

    On some of the challenges the Force is confronted with ahead of the elections, Adamu said: “We remain genuinely concerned about the disposition of some ill-advised political actors, who appear bent on threatening our democratic values and our national security all in their desperation to project their narrow political interests over and above national interests.

    “We are also concerned about subversive actors who masquerade as politicians and are taking advantage of the freedoms that our democracy has bestowed on the citizens to encourage hate speeches and misinformation, and inflame passion in a manner that could threaten our stable political order.

    “Equally worrisome are reports of firearms build-up by some political actors and threats in some other quarters to disrupt the electoral process. We also note an increasing level of political intolerance, which has been occasioning pockets of inter-party violence and destruction of campaign billboards across the country.  All of these constitute not only serious electoral or criminal infractions, but major national security threats.”

    Read also: Afenifere endorses Buhari for 2019 presidential election

    On the punishment to be meted out to those who fail to adhere to the Electoral Act, the IGP said: “To the individuals and groups engaged in these unacceptable activities, let it be known that the Force leadership shall charge the Heads of Operations of the Nigeria Police, who are here gathered to return to their areas of jurisdiction and do just two things – protect the law-abiding, but identify, isolate and deal decisively with any political actor that acts in contravention of the Electoral Act or our Criminal Laws.

    “This is our sacred mandate and this we shall perform within the dictates of the law and in the overriding national security interest.”

    He also assured Nigerians and the international community of the Force’ unwavering determination to emplace strategies and initiate actions that would guarantee a peaceful, secure and level-playing field for all political actors and citizens to freely exercise their voting rights.

  • UN raises alarm over rising carbon emissions

    Just as the dry season sets in, heat-trapping, due to increasing carbon emissions from buildings and construction activities appear to have peaked at a global level, the United Nations said, urging countries to aggressively take up the challenge by curbing the emerging ugly trend.

    Greenhouse gas emissions have been attributed to buildings leveled-off over 2015-2017.

    However, they still represent about a third of the global emissions that cause climate change, a report by UN Environment and its partners said.

    According to the finding, it is a rare bright spot amid a spate of warnings that not enough is being done to stop the planet heating up.

    Global carbon emissions are set to rise nearly three per cent this year due to continued fossil fuel use, scientists said this week.

    The statement dashes hope that an increase in 2017 was temporary after two years of slowdown.

    The UN Environment report called for more pledges to make building construction greener, in national climate action plans submitted for the 2015 Paris Agreement to curb climate change.

    “It’s a very complex field, but one that’s absolutely critical,” Nick Nuttall, a UN Environment spokesman told reporters on the sidelines of U.N. climate talks in Poland.

    Delegates from more than 190 nations’ party to the Paris Agreement are gathered in the Polish city of Katowice to meet an end-of-year deadline to agree rules on how to enforce the pact.

    The “rule book”, as it is known, is expected to include details about how countries will report and monitor curbs on greenhouse gas emissions and strengthen their national plans.

    A positive outcome at the negotiations could encourage governments to double down on promises to cut emissions from the construction industry, said Nuttall.

    “That might increase the enthusiasm of nations to revise their (action plans),” he said.

    “If they’re revised upwards to include the building and construction sector, then what happens here will have a very strong impact on the sector being able to move forward faster.”

    To encourage energy-efficient buildings, the national plans could push for better insulation and windows by aspiring to revamp building codes and set up energy certification schemes.

    They could also plan to lower emissions from common building materials like cement and steel whose manufacturing generates large amounts of carbon, the report said.

    Even if such rules require consumers to open their wallets to retrofit a home, for example.

    It is unlikely to cause the kind of public anger seen recently in France over fuel taxes, said Jennifer Layke, global director for energy with the Washington-based World Resources Institute.

     

     

  • Council raises the alarm over adulterated seeds

    National Agricultural Seed Council (NASC) Director-General Dr. Philip Ojo has raised the alarm over proliferation of adulterated seeds in the country.

    Speaking in Abuja during a rally to promote adoption of improved seeds, Ojo said except such act is checked, it might hinder the Federal Government’s drive to attain food sufficiency.

    He, however, noted that the  campaign for rural farmers became imperative to adopt improved and high quality seeds.  The campaign, which  took  place   at the Eagles Square, Abuja, was witnessed by stakeholders in the seed sector, including seed firms and representatives from the National Bio-safety Management Agency (NBMA), National Biotechnology Agricultural Development Agency (NABDA), Agricultural Research Council of Nigeria (ARCN), Voices for Food Security, Open Forum for Agricultural Biotechnology (OFAB), among others.

    Ojo said: “Let’s walk together and tell the story that only quality improved seed is the way out of food security.”

    According to him, the rally was part of activities to celebrate the  National Seed Fair and Farmers’ Field Day.

    Some of the participants carried placards with inscriptions, such as, “Don’t plant grains as seeds”, “We are marching against seed adulteration and sale of fake seeds”, and Fake seed dealers are economic saboteurs and criminals”.

    “It is in pursuant to its vision that the NASC is organising this march for improved seed adoption to create awareness for enhanced adoption and use of improved seed to increase demand and drive production of adequate quantities of improved that are accessible and affordable,” he added.

    OFAB Country Director, Dr. Rose Gidado said the use of improved quality seeds remain the only solution to addressing hunger and increasing agricultural productivity. She noted that the seeds are capable of providing farmers with bountiful harvests and should be well adopted.

    The rally is expected to be carried out across the six geo-political zones of the country.

     

  • Atiku raises the alarm over alleged threat to life

    Former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar has raised the alarm over alleged threat to his life and those of his family members.

    In a petition to President Muhammadu Buhari, dated September 7, 2018, Atiku linked the alleged threat to his decision to contest next year’s presidential election on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

    The petition, a copy of which was sent to PDP’s National Chairman Prince Uche Secondus, urged President Buhari to urgently probe the allegation

    The petition was titled: “Petition over criminal intimidation and threat to my life; that of members of my family, and cyber stalking using mobile phone number 08148228704”.

    Atiku requested more police protection for himself and members of his family from the President.

    He stated in the petition that his wife and daughters had received separate text messages from a mobile line, demanding that their patriarch backed out of the presidential race, failing which they would be raped and killed.

    The former vice president added that the author of the threat text messages had stated that members of his family were being closely watched.

    Urging the President to urgently order an investigation into the matter, Atiku warned that the threat could lead to serious security breach and that it posed real danger to national security.

    The petition reads in part: “I present my highest compliments to the president and Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and have the honour to request your excellency’s kind review/investigation and urgent consideration of extra protection for my family and I against some criminal intimidation and threat to my life, that of my family, and the cyber stalking against my family and I, using telephone mobile number +2348148228704″.

    Atiku in the petition, said the author of the message had threatened that if he did not withdraw from the presidential contest, “we will kill, rape your wife and daughters”.

    He added that the stalker had mentioned two of his daughters – Mariam who works at the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and Fatima, a former commissioner in Adamawa State.

    According to him, the author of the said threat message had also threatened to blow up his plane and poison him and members of his family.

    “We will blow your plane off the sky and we will poison you and your family. You are going to see what we will do with your family. We know where and where your children travel to”, he quoted the from the threat message.

    The author of the said message was also said to have threatened to blow up all his property and those of his wife.

    “We control the aviation towers in Nigeria and South Africa. We are in government and Buhari will win again. Your party members will never select you and if they do, we will assassinat (sic) you. We will kill you by blowing up your plane”, the threat message further stated.

    Atiku further stated that in separate text messages to his wife and daughters, the author had asked them to ask him to back down from the contest or they would be harmed.

    Concluding the petition, Atiku stated: “From the foregoing, Mr. President can see that if adequate and urgent steps are not taken to identify and deal with these threats, they could lead to serious breaches and may constitute real danger to national security.

    “Considering that these threats border on the right to life of my family and I, as well as my freedom to aspire for and contest for the Presidency in Nigeria, I urge you to commence urgent investigation with a view to identifying the person(s) behind the threats, expose and prosecute the culprit(s) in accordance with the laws.

    “I request that you ensure the continued protection of my rights to life, that of my family, my property and my rights and freedoms to associate and aspire to any political office as guaranteed under the 1999 Nigerian Constitution (as amended)”.

     

  • Expert raises the alarm on increase in male infertility

    Male infertility is on the increase,   an obstetrician/gynaecologist, Dr. Abayomi Ajayi, has said.

    Ajayi, who is also the Managing Director Nordica Fertility Centre, Lagos, pioneer of the Intracytoplasmic Morphologically Selected Injection (IMSI) in Nigeria, otherwise known as Test Tube baby, said the male factor is responsible for the increase in In Vitro Fertilisation (IVF).

    IVF is a process of fertilisation where an egg is combined with sperm outside the body.

    Ajayi, who raised the alarm during an interactive session with reporters in Abuja, however, allayed any fear, saying that it is easy to handle when compared with the female fertility.

    He emphasised that the campaign was to let the men know  that there was a way out. He however urged on heathy lifestyle.

    Ajayi said: “Some studies that were done in my clinic, we saw that 12 per cent of the men who come to the clinic do not have sperm at all. We have seen also that this has been the commonest reason for IVF.”

    While regretting the lack of statistics on the issue, the Nordica boss, however, noted that efforts were ongoing to get a national figure on male fertility in the country.

    “We are still working to get national statistics. What we have seen in other part of the world, for some countries where they have statistics like in Denmark, about 40 percent of the men that the sperm count is bad. And, therefore, this tells us that either we like it or not, there is something happening to men in the world as relates to fertility and we cannot continue to ignore it. And if we are not careful, I hope we will not go into extinction. You can see in some countries like Japan now, the population is getting older and they are not having many young ones,” he said.

    He also said there is an advanced technology, which helps in identifies normal and abnormal sperm as well as choosing the sperm (Morphologically Selected Sperm).

    On the percentage of the successes recorded so far, he said it was difficult to state as the egg of the women most times determine the final result.

    “It depends on the wife because the egg is very important. When a woman is 40 years old, the quality of the egg is not very good; it is like putting two things that are not very good together. But if the wife was about 25 years and everything was good, the case could have been different. That is why it is difficult to put a percentage to that problem,” he explained.

     

  • Farmers raise alarm over agrochemicals adulteration

    The growing market for agrochemicals estimated to be in excess of $308.92 billion by 2025 has attracted counterfeiters whose activities are flooding the country with huge quantities of fake products.

    It is estimated that over 70 per cent of Nigeria’s close to 190 million people are said to be farmers.

    Agrochemicals, such as fertiliser, pesticides, fungicides and insecticides are commonly used in agriculture to control weeds, pests, improve crop performance and yields.

    Fraudsters and counterfeiters are eying the global agrochemical market estimated to net $266 billion in 2021, according to statistics.

    Experts say over 20 percent  of that market share will be lost globally to the adulteration and counterfeiting industry.

    It is believed that the growing agrochemicals market in Nigeria is driven by a rapid population expansion, demand for food and more people showing interest in farming.

    Recently, regulators, such as the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) and the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control(NAFDAC) raised the alarm over the influx of adulterated and substandard agro-chemicals in many stores across the country.

    Speaking in Kano during the public sensitisation workshop organised by the duo to educate farmers and agro-chemical dealers on the dangers of substandard and adulterated inputs in manufacturing process and farming,  NAFDAC Director-General Dr. Moji Christiana Adeyeye said the situation was counterproductive to the country’s drive to rejuvenate its agro-economy, and pledged the preparedness of her agency to deal decisively with those on the wrong side of the law.

    Contributing SON Director-GEneral Mr. Osita  Aboloma said most of the products in the markets are substandard and adulterated.

    According to him, investigations by his agency reveal that a larger percentage of agrochemicals in the market are substandard, containing contaminated contents or do not contain any active ingredients.

    Others country of origin, he said, are falsified or re-labelled or expired.

    Chairman, All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN), Kano State chapter, Farouq Rabi’u Mudi, said for long, farmers in the Northwest region had been suffering losses in their yearly output due to wrong use of substandard chemicals on their farmlands.

    The Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) has warned: “Every pesticide user should avoid choosing products whose origin is not guaranteed. The efficacy of the products cannot be guaranteed and they can be more toxic to humans and the environment than products from a bona fide source as they contain toxic impurities normally eliminated by reputable manufacturers.”

    Experts at Arjo Solution, an international firm in authentication and traceability solutions to combat counterfeiting, parallel markets and illicit trade said: “The use of fake products generates lands depletion, compromises crop yield and threaten farmers’ health.”

  • No cause for alarm, says APC

    The All Progressives Congress (APC) said yesterday there is no cause for alarm as a result of the defections by some of its members in the National Assembly.

    The ruling party said it respects the right of Nigerians to freely belong to any political association of their choice, saying in spite of the defections, which has made the party the minority in the Semate, it will continue to work hard to reposition the party for greater efficiency.

    National Publicity Secretary Bolaji Abdullahi’s statement said: “The All Progressives Congress (APC) notes the development in the National Assembly with the defection of some of our members from the Party.

    “In the last couple of weeks our Party leaders have worked to stave off this situation as responsible Party leaders would do. It would appear however that the individuals involved have different considerations beyond the grievances that they were willing to discuss and which our leaders were willing to address.

    “As a truly democratic party, we respect the right of every citizen to political association. Therefore, we urge our members to remain calm as we continue to work hard to position our party strongly for the next general elections.  APC remains in firm control of 25 states of the 36 states of the federation and maintains a clear majority in the federal House of Representatives and state assemblies.

    “We assure members and supporters that our great Party will continue to consolidate on our majority status in the leadup to the 2019 General Elections, even as our government continues to work hard to deliver on our promises to Nigerians.”

  • Raped teenagers’ parents raise alarm over daughters’ whereabouts

    Parents and family of the two teenage girls who were allegedly raped by five suspects have raised the alarm over the whereabouts of the girls, two days to the adjournment date of their case in court.

    Five suspects – Bode Akinsiku, Olabanji Femi, Abiodun Ayodele, Fadairo Wahab, and Adedayo Adebayo – were said to have lured the two teenagers into the house of one of the suspects on Kogbona Street in Ondo town where they were raped.

    The suspects, after allegedly having the carnal knowledge of the victims, stripped them naked, tortured, videotaped them and posted the video on the social media.

    The police arrested the five suspects and arraigned them before a Chief Magistrates’ Court in the town where they were remanded in prison custody.

    One of the mothers of the girls, Mrs. Veronica Glory, said the whereabouts of her daughter had been shrouded in secrecy since the beginning of the case.

    The distraught mother expressed the belief that her daughter was in police custody.

    She said: “The whereabouts of my daughter are sketchy and unknown to me. I would have raised the alarm since all these days, but my belief was that my daughter and her friend were save.

    “It was not until yesterday when information came to me in the market that my daughter and her friend had allegedly been taken to unknown destination by the family of one of the suspects, apparently to frustrate proceedings in the matter.

    Mrs. Glory urged individuals, religious organisations, human rights activists as well as the police to wade into the matter and locate the whereabouts of her daughter to prevent the family of the suspects from frustrating the case.

    Also, the mother of the second teenage girl, Mrs Margaret Idowu, said the whereabouts of her own daughter were unknown.

    She said since the video was shown to her, she had been in distress.

    According to her, apart from being an abuse of human rights, the video will also affect the future of the victims.

    Mrs Idowu said: “I have not seen my daughter since the beginning of the matter. I was told that the police took them to Akure for safety reasons. But information reached us yesterday (Monday) afternoon that my daughter and the other girl had been taken to an unknown destination by the family of the suspects.”

    She urged the police to ensure that the girls are presented in court on the adjourned date on the matter.

    She urged the police to ensure that the matter is not swept under the carpet.

    Mrs. Glory threatened to organise women to protest against the whereabouts of the two teenage girls, if they are not presented in court on next adjournment date.

    Also, an Ondo rights activist, Otunba Muyideen Olamoyegun, said the disappearance of the two teenagers was a deliberate action to frustrate the case in court.

    He threatened to sue the police, if the victims are not produced in the court.

    The activist threatened to hire lawyers to prosecute the police on the matter.

  • Police raise alarm over rising crimes

    The Kwara State Police Command yesterday raised the alarm over the use of unregistered vehicles to commit crimes in the state.

    It added that criminals posing as taxi drivers go about the state dispossessing commuters of their properties.

    Others criminal activities being committed, according to the police, included coverings of vehicle plate numbers by drivers to prevent easy identification; motorcycle riders popularly called “Okada” milling around banks gates to pick passengers, creating security risks to both bankers and customers.

    In a statement, spokesperson of the command, Ajayi Okasanmi said: “The command is therefore warning members of the public of the above antics of criminal elements and at the same time advising the criminals to desist forthwith or get arrested and prosecuted.

    “Divisional Police officers and other police officers of the command have been ordered to go after them with all their vigour, the command cannot fold its arms while some unscrupulous few put our jealously guarded peace in disarray.

    “As Ramadan period is fast approaching, movement of goods and services is imminent, hence, the people are advised to always be conscious of their environment, board vehicles at recognised motor parks, while assuring every residents of Kwara of their safety at all times, please.”

     

  • No cause for alarm, says Visionscape

    Visionscape Sanitation Solutions said there is “no cause for alarm” over the resolution of the Lagos State House of Assembly to summon the executive over the state of waste management in Lagos.

    The House of Assembly had in a resolution invited the Accountant-General of the state, Mrs Abimbola Umar and  three members of the State Executive Council to brief its ad hoc committee, on all issues surrounding waste management in Lagos and the role and status  of Visionscape.

    The invited commissioners are Attorney-General and Commissioner of Justice, Mr Adeniji Kazeem; the Commissioner for Finance, Mr Akinyemi Ashade and the Commissioner for Environment, Mr Babatunde Durosinmi-Etti.

    But in a chat with The Nation, yesterday, a representative of Visionscape, Dipo Wintoki, said the House of Assembly was performing its statutory function and there was no cause for alarm since the firm had a valid contract from government.

    “The emergence of the contract was done through regular and due process. The Lagos State Government has an obligation to fulfil its part of the contract. The process of awarding the contract to Visionscape was not arbitrary. This will be resolved,” Wintoki said.

    The Head, Corporate Communications of Visionscape, Motunrayo Elias, explained that in a little while, waste problem will be a thing of the past in the state.

    She said the firm was consolidating its efforts at delivering the best services to keep the state clean.

    Part of this consolidation has led to about 100 PSP operators joining hands to work with Visionscape.

    She said that more vehicles and equipment that will ensure smoother operations of the company would soon be added.